Somewhat Newish
 

Hey! well i joined this forum back when i had my 99 NB but i wasnt a very active member. Then i traded in my NB for an 06 WRX. That was stolen and im back in the miata scene but now i have a 1990 NA. Im gona do a lot of research using this forum to see if its worth building my 1.6 to turbo it or just swapping in a 1.8 and turboing that engine. Ive seen a lot of 1.6 turbo and they stand out because not a lot of people want to turbo the 1.6L.

Well i hope i get some help from some of the members on here!

Welcome back.

If the motor is healthy and you plan on staying in the "safe zone", run it until it dies. If your immediate plans are built engine and 300+whp, then get a 1.8 now before you buy into turbo parts for the 1.6.

Don't do performance mods because they "stand out". There a TON of people running turbo B6's. They are not uncommon and have the same "safe zone" as most BP turbo setups..

Also, what are your plans with the new car? Street car, track car or even a drift car? If it's a stock 90, it's gonna need a 1.8 rear end swap to handle the power upgrade. And depending on fast you wanna go it might need some upgraded brakes, too.

Yeah ive been reading A LOT on the 1.6 or 1,8 swaps and im thinking 1.8 for sure. My 90 is bone stock with 143k miles. The engine doesnt sound too healthy tho and for sure its burning oil or something cus i need to put like a quart about every 2 months or so. The engine sounds run down.

My goal for the car is a little bit of everything. The major one will be drag racing and a little auto-x once in a while and maybe some drifting once a year. I know my diff will give out(i read the diff storys) so for sure an upgrade.

Uly, congrats on signing up at the best site on the web!

Welcome.

A turbo 1.6L is fun, and it's what you've got. They're also cheap to replace. You miss out on about 20whp/wtq, but you can push the limits of the rods just the same (the two motors share rods).

It's also more fun to tell the Mustang GT with exhaust you just smoked that it's only a 1.6.

The crummy part is that the 1.6L diff will grenade with even a little boost and some punishment. Swap the crummy 6" out with a 7" unit (preferably TorSen) from the 1.8L cars.